Trepaneringsritualen “Deathward, To The Womb”

Trepaneringsritualen “Deathward, To The Womb”

SIDE-LINE, May 8th 2017 :
Behind this obscure Swedish project is hiding Thomas Martin Ekelund (aka Th. Tot). Trepaneringsritualen became a renowned formation in the darkest corners of ritual- and death-industrial music. “Deathward To The Womb” was originally released in 2012; Release The Bats Records released the album as a 12” vinyl while Black Horizons and Merzbild released it as a cassette. Cold Spring now released the opus on CD format with an extra bonus cut. It is also available as a limited vinyl edition. Content: If you don’t already know this masterpiece of Trepaneringsritualen you’ll discover these ghost-like voices lost in haunted, obscure atmospheres, accomplished with numerous noises and ritual passages. The concept is mystic and ritual-like, which has been perfectly adapted into sound. The heavy sonic sweeps are like the sound of an imaginary, monstrous whip opening the gate to an unknown world. Dark electronic loops are often moving into pure ritual passages, sometimes joined by shouting vocals. Next to the 6 original tracks of the album we now get an extra track, which is an endless and varied piece featuring the unavoidable ritual parts next to vibrating throat chants and industrial drones.
Positive points : “Deathward To The Womb” remains one of the absolute masterpieces in the history of this band. It’s the perfect offspring between dark-ambient, ritual and death-industrial music. There’s a poignant progression in the songwriting, which reaches several climaxes like on the title-track and “She Is Flame Of Life”. The bonus cut “I Remember When I Was God” is also worthy of examination. This is one more deeply ritual cut that will hold you in its grip for more than 10 minutes.
Negative points : Trepaneringsritualen is a band you’d better avoid if you’re not familiar with extreme sonic creation. You either going to like it or not, there’s no in between!
Conclusion: Trepaneringsritualen is a band that gained a serious recognition in a rather short lapse of time. No doubt about it, the very own sound approach and explicit ritual character of the work both remain the main characteristics of this enigmatic artist.
Best songs: “Deathward To The Womb”, “I Remember When I Was God”, “She Is Flame Of Life”.
Rate: 8/10.
Inferno Sound Diaries

MERCHANTS OF AIR, January 11th 2017 :
Fans of death industrial, power electronics and ritual noise will by now know the name Trepaneringsritualen. With sonic live rituals allover Europe this act has surely made a name for himself. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a more prolific and prominent act in this genre since the glorydays of Cold Meat Industry. Now, Cold Spring reissued Trepaneringsritualen’s long out of print debut album and added the long ritual work entitled “I Remember When I Was God” (included as download for the vinyl edition). What you can expect from this act, is pretty much similar to the stuff that acts like Brighter Death Now, Nicole 12 and Genocide Organ have been throwing in our faces. Harsh, rhythmic noise, with pissed off screams, loaded with misanthropy, agony and hopelessness. There is nothing pretty or beautiful about this whole thing but play it loud and before you know it, you’ll be in a spiteful trance, barking out your demons and cleansing yourself from those dark, haunting emotions. Obviously, this stuff is not suited for everyone. If you want music to be musical, you should step away from stuff like this before it obliterates your sanity. Yet, if you’re one of those freaks who like to dwell in the grittiest regions of the sonic underground, this thing will give you the nightmares you crave and thrive upon. ‘Deathward, To The Womb’ is simply a stunning piece of work, a haunting masterpiece of pure dark sentiment. This comes highly recommended for all the ritual noise folk out there. You know you want this…
​Serge